Justina Griffith is not the type of girl to get excited about prom. She could care less about fancy dresses and heels. In fact, she’d have to admit that she doesn’t even know the first thing about formal attire. But when her best friend Ian Clark asks her to prom, Justina realizes that she’ll have to put all her fears and doubts about prom aside because, well, Ian’s kind of amazing. But that doesn’t explain why Justina finds herself on the side of the road on the morning after prom with bruises, a Tinker Bell tattoo, and a very ruined prom dress—alone. At the nearby 7-Eleven, Justina takes inventory of each dress stain, bruise, and bite mark from the night where she got ditched by what was supposed to be her perfect date. She thinks the last thing she wants is to see Ian again, but there’s another side to the story of prom night that she hasn’t heard yet. After all the damage and miscommunication, Justina will see that maybe missing out on prom doesn’t mean she’s missed out on love.

Ditched is a very cute story of high school romance. The cast of characters isn’t necessarily the most original, but they still remain quirky and pretty realistic. I’d say that plot and character development were satisfactory overall, if not stellar, but what really made this novel stand out for me was the way in which protagonist Justina told her story. Justina’s narrations alternate between her present conversation with two colorful women in a 7-Eleven and flashbacks which correspond with some physical mark on her unruly physical appearance. It’s kind of hilarious to read along as Justina recounts the story behind each stain and bruise; this more unusual way of storytelling certainly made Ditched very entertaining to read. Though the story overall is rather predicable, Ditched is still an adorable, fun, and heartwarming story perfect for all those high school prom cynics.

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2013

October:67. The Color of Rain (Cori McCarthy)

September:66. The Fifth Wave (Rick Yancey)65. United We Spy (Ally Carter)64. Out of Sight, Out of Time (Ally Carter)63. Only the Good Spy Young (Ally Carter)62. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Ally Carter)61. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (Ally Carter60. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Ally Carter)59. Also Known As (Robin Benway)58. Not a Drop to Drink (Mindy McGinnis)57. The Waking Dark (Robin Wasserman)

THE BOOK MUNCHER is the reviewing alias of a prolific reader. She is guilty of several overflowing bookshelves in several states. Her literary diet is mostly dedicated to the young adult fiction genre but has been known to occasionally stray into middle grade or adult categories. She is a firm believer that reading and literacy are as essential to modern life as physical sustenance, that fiction is often truer than nonfiction, and that stories and words have the power to change the world.